Xicheng govt still to apportion blame for woman scalded

A woman, who suffered 99 percent burns to her body after being scalded by hot water when the sidewalk collapsed, died on Monday night in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, said Xicheng district government.

Yang Erjing, 27, and a mother of a 1-year-old son, was on her way to work on April 1 when she was fatally scalded after water had apparently leaked from hot water pipes on Beilishi Lu. Xicheng District Administration of Work Safety said yesterday that an investigation into the fatal accident has not yet been concluded.

"Since Yang died on Monday evening, we'll reconsider the factors affecting the investigation results and decisions concerning liability," said an official, surnamed Song, from Xicheng work safety administration yesterday.

Local residents had reported seeing steam rising from the street to Beijing Heating System Group (BHSG), but Yang's colleague said there was no warning sign or workers on the scene.

An official from BHSG said that corroded pipes were likely to blame, and inspections and repairs are the responsibility of property owners, Beijing Wanhua Real Estate Company.

"We are waiting for the investigation results from authorities," said Zhang Chuandong, publicity official at BHSG, "if they identify us as responsible, we will pay compensation."

Zhang said repairs to the pipes were completed on Thursday. The group is launching a citywide examination and said that the government is responsible for safety inspections.

Yesterday, Xicheng district government posted an update on the investigation on its microblog, which said that incident was a "production safety accident," and the investigation will identify who is responsible.